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Questions For Excellence – Our Active Listening Skills
September 2nd, 2010
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by Lee Wise · Filed Under: Listening · Personal Relationships · Skill Development · asking good questions · personal development · self development
Questions For Excellence…
Our Active Listening Skills
Excellence For Business.
Excellence For Life.
If you have been following this brief series, you know that these questions came about following my read of Kendall Sylva’s excellent article on The Coaching Mindset. The six questions I wrote down and posed for myself to consider are located right where I can see them by my computer. I keep them there to use for motivation, inspiration and ongoing skill development. As I mentioned earlier, I feel these questions may help whether you are:
- A life coach.
- An attraction marketer.
- An educator.
- An mlm trainer of others.
- A blogger.
- Or an individual committed to personal growth for any number of reasons.
My Question For You Today…
“How Can I Practice Active Listening
And Being ‘In The Moment’ Today?”
Before we begin today’s brief informational and what I hope to be inspirational thoughts for you, I would like you to pause in the reading of this quote:
On True Listening Caring enough to listen, and listening enough to care. © Lee Wise
You may say “that’s simply a play on words.” Could, be; but not for me. What I am speaking about here is a two-fold decision: the decision to listen and the the corresponding heart-felt decision to listen from the heart. In other words…
“To be in the moment as much as is possible for the moment.”
With that quote and the comment above taking backstage in your mental space, think about:
- The variety of situations you could be practicing the art of listening well for the purpose of caring well in the process: over the phone, meeting someone in store, interacting with a server in a restaurant, while getting a haircut, a quick conversation with a student in a hallway, answering a simple question for someone in your downline, truly listening to someone else’s question on a webinar, or simply pausing enough to hear when in your mind the “pause” may not be really needed — much less something you are looking forward to at the moment. Point being: this “art” can be practiced repeatedly over time.
- And closely related to the examples given above, the whole idea of using the “short chunks of time” concept to actually design when you might take part in your own caring and self growth activity.
- And should you happen to come from a faith based background such as myself, I would suggest that you make prayer a part of this process. In fact, click here for an article on prayer that could be helpful to you in that regard.
Your Turn!
- Remember, as the creative one for your world, this is where could take the time and do a bit of brainstorming: even for three minutes. Seriously, just take three minutes and jot down several responses as to where, when and how you might be able to apply concepts in this post to your own world. Ready… go!
- If you would like additional ideas, try this: as you are going through the average day simply have the question posted above in the back of your mind and take in the variety of ways your active listening and being in the moment skills could be used: even without doing them at the moment. (And by the way, I have chapter in my book devoted to the gathering of ideas. Yes, that’s a hint, lol!)
- Should you be in some aspect of online business or business development, you may want to ask yourself how you could use these concepts to train others.
A Brief Quote To Consider
On Active Listening
Being present in heart
just enough to heart the ‘heart speak’
of those you are caring for at the moment.
© Lee Wise
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© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute this inspirational note. The copyright and this resource box must be included. Lee is a writer, Online Marketer and Life Coach. With a passion for on purpose living and making a positive impact in the world, he seeks to encourage people in their personal and professional lives. Love self growth and personal development? See his Inspirational Handbook for Attraction Marketers here http://attractionmarketinghandbook.com Feel stuck or like you need a boost anywhere in your life at this time? Seize a FREE 15 minute sessionwith Lee. Go here now http://leewise.marketingmerge.com/coaching ________________________ Share Or Reply… Remember: this is a blog dedicated to help others advance through their continual self growth and development. If you feel the posts are helpful or the resources I suggest may be helpful, pass on the information! Share your positive comments here or if you liked what you read, pass it on! ________________________ And By The Way.. The video quote below only lasts 48 seconds. 48 seconds! It is directly related to the main idea of caring as noted in this post. Go ahead… listen!
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2 Responses to “Questions For Excellence – Our Active Listening Skills”
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Lee, this is a great post. To me, being in the moment when I’m listening means that I’m not paying attention to the talk that’s going on in my own head (my judgment or my agenda or my need to insert my opinion). It means that I’m truly hearing what the other person is saying . . . and I’m hearing it not only through the words they say, but also through the words they don’t say, their body language, their tone and their energy. It’s much easier to do when I’m coaching or interacting with someone in a business context than with people I’m intimately involved with (e.g. my family). But it’s very powerful when it’s done with those I’m intimately involved with!
Good day Leanne! First, thank you for the compliment — much appreciated. And, your comments are actually good summary points of parts of the active listening process. Yes, it is powerful when interacting with those close to you! I do thank you for stopping by and sharing.
Lee